As we said yesterday, it's going to be a big fall, as we celebrate a full 10 years of HODINKEE. At the center of this season-long celebration is a special wristwatch built to celebrate where we're headed, but while paying respect to where we've been. In this case, this HODINKEE exclusive is much more than just another cool watch – it is an homage to a man who inspired me to fall in love with watches in the first place, the man who gave me the watch without which there would be no HODINKEE. This is a special one to all of us.

What Is It?

Introducing the H10 Omega Speedmaster, a limited edition celebrating 10 years of HODINKEE.

Say hello to the Omega Speedmaster HODINKEE 10th Anniversary Limited Edition. If you know the history of my own watch obsession and the early days of HODINKEE, you know exactly what this is, but in case you don’t, here it goes.

Ben's original MK40 Speedmaster, the inspiration for this new limited edition.

This is an Omega Speedmaster made in a limited edition of 500 pieces celebrating a decade of HODINKEE. Mechanically speaking, it features a hand-wound Omega caliber 1861 three-register chronograph movement and uses the original 39.7mm case of the reference 2998. But the dial and hands make this unlike any other manually wound Speedmaster to date. First, the dial isn’t black, it’s a blue/grey with a pronounced minute scale. Second, the chronograph seconds hand is red, with a yellow tip as seen on a handful of Speedmasters dating back to the 1970s. Third, the hour markers are painted and luminous, while the hour and minute registers feature special red arrow hands. Further, the running seconds register is blue and black – taking inspiration from a particular example of an Omega, with a 30-second interval hand, a first for any Omega.

The bezel is black aluminum, just as it was on the original 1960s reference 2998, and the case is slim, without crown guards. It'll come with two straps, a grey NATO strap seen above, and a dark grey calfskin strap with side-stitch, a vintage style that HODINKEE helped popularize. The watch is every bit an original Speedmaster, but with a twist – a twist that is a nod to the most important watch in my own collection, the watch that started an obsession, and a career – my grandfather's MK40 triple calendar Speedmaster.

The hand-stitched leather strap adds a vintage touch to the watch.

The caseback of this limited edition is inscribed with "10th Anniversary HODINKEE."

Why This Watch?

There was really only one direction to head for a 10th anniversary watch – an Omega Speedmaster.

My first good mechanical watch was, like for many of us, an Omega. It was given to me by my maternal grandfather, a man who I grew up more than admiring – he was my idol. He was a veteran, an entrepreneur, and to me, just the coolest guy in the world. And while he wore other watches in his younger years, it was this Omega chronograph that I remember him wearing throughout my adolescence. Each time I would visit him, he would take the Omega off his wrist and let me wear it until I went home.

The look of the H10 Speedmaster is technical, but the grey dial and strap are designed to be casual and subtle.

One day, when I was 16 years old, at the end of a week-long visit, I went to give the watch back to him and he simply said "you can keep it." There wasn't any great fanfare or to-do, he just wanted me to have it. He knew how much I appreciated mechanical things, and I'm sure he knew how much he meant to me, even back then. And that Speedmaster MK40 has been with me ever since. It remains a staple of my collection to this day, and is easily the most important piece to me for a variety of reasons. It was this watch that really allowed me to fully understand the beauty of mechanical watches. The MK40 is not a "moon watch" in that it's not a hand-wound, date-less Speedmaster. But it is the perfect representation of the period of watchmaking in which I, and many of us, grew up. The watch is based on a Valjoux 7750, a movement that powered so many of the most popular watches in the world at the time, and was far more complicated looking than a normal Speedmaster – with pops of color not often seen on the traditionally stoic model.

When it came time to select what we wanted to do for our 10th anniversary watch, there was really no debate about with whom to work and in what direction we should head. In early conversations with Omega CEO Raynald Aeschlimann, it was clear he had been approached by countless platforms after the success of my friend Robert-Jan's #SpeedyTuesday project, and he wasn't interested in just another limited edition. So we put our heads together to consider what would make sense – in his words, HODINKEE isn't just another watch magazine, and Omega isn't just another brand, in particular to myself and the role it has played in my own development as a watch lover. My first vintage watch was also an Omega, by the way, so we agreed that we would only do something together if it was really special – and I am quite sure what we've come up with really is.

The Details

The colors found on the H10 Speedmaster are unique, as is the two-sided interval timer on the running seconds.

The Omega Speedmaster HODINKEE 10th Anniversary Speedmaster is a limited edition of 500 pieces. The dial design is thoroughly modern, reminiscent of what we saw from Omega in the late '90s and early 2000s, but the case profile is purely vintage. It's perfectly sized at 39.7mm and is hand-wound, just like classic chronographs should be.

The H10 is based on the CK2998, what many would describe as the ultimate Speedmaster.

The H10, like the CK2998, features pump pushers and no crown guard.

What's more, we decided to provide not only two straps with this special edition Speedmaster, but also an Omega strap changing tool and a travel case that is integrated right into the presentation box, both with "HODINKEE 10th Anniversary" inscribed.

The H10 Speedmaster will come with a special display box.

The box includes a hidden travel case, strap holder, and changing tool.

Finally, this watch will be sold not only by Omega boutiques, but also by our own HODINKEE Shop, and it is available to purchase right now, with delivery later this year. The retail price is $6,500, and like with every watch purchase from the HODINKEE Shop, that includes free expedited, insured shipping, and an extended warranty. You can purchase the watch right here.